22-250 cartridge overall legnth

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savageyote94

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I measured the cartridge overall legnth on my ruger m77 22-250 and it was 2.703. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this and how far out did you load for it? My hornady manual states 2.350, 2.703 seems like a long jump
 
Very common with factory chambers so I would not worry about it. Seat at 2.35" and then find powder node and then adjust seating depth to fine tune.
 
Coyotezapper I was told to seat to the lands and find the best depth then find best powder charge. So I need to find best powder charge first?
 
Originally Posted By: savageyote94Coyotezapper I was told to seat to the lands and find the best depth then find best powder charge. So I need to find best powder charge first?

Yes. Loads can be developed many ways but for varminting / hunting I like to have a big powder and seating depth window to run in.

Find powder node first - it helps to have chronograph but can be done by just looking at vertical from one charge to the next.

After powder node is found start your seating depth testing. This window can be .020-.050" in most cases.

Read this thread I did on jumping bullets. I use this method for every rifle I shoot.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/for...705#Post2968705
 
I work up the powder charge in mine with the seating depth of 2.35 then took the best powder charge and played with seating depths. Never did find anything better so just stuck with 2.350.
 
I have 3 22-250s and can tell you that all of mine, and most others i have seen, like a pretty good jump. If you try to seat touching the lands then you are not even going to have enough bullet in the case neck....with most 22-250 factory chambers. You mis-spoke when you said that you measured the COAL or cartridge overall length of your ruger. That is just the distance to the lands. SAMMI spec coal for the 22-250 Remmington is 2.350" that is the standard that has been set so that all factory ammo works safely in all factory chambers. Some of my other bigger rifles shoot best seated .005" off the lands. I could never get that out of my 250s due to the ammount of freebore and the size of the magazines. Base to tip is not the best way to measure coal due to different bullet shapes and profiles and the fact that polymer tipped (and many other) bullets for that matter, vary slightly in length dimension. The most accurate way is to measure from the ogive of the bullet to the base. If you are dead set on starting loads that are touching, then make sure you are starting at the low end of the powder charge and work up watching for pressure. Trying to overcome neck tension and rifling friction at the same time cam cause pressure spikes.
 
Originally Posted By: coyotezapper Originally Posted By: savageyote94Coyotezapper I was told to seat to the lands and find the best depth then find best powder charge. So I need to find best powder charge first?

Yes. Loads can be developed many ways but for varminting / hunting I like to have a big powder and seating depth window to run in.

Find powder node first - it helps to have chronograph but can be done by just looking at vertical from one charge to the next.

After powder node is found start your seating depth testing. This window can be .020-.050" in most cases.

Read this thread I did on jumping bullets. I use this method for every rifle I shoot.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/for...705#Post2968705



I read the link you listed. Very interesting and another good way to develope. Ill have to give it a go. Thank you.
 
Originally Posted By: savageyote94I measured the cartridge overall legnth on my ruger m77 22-250 and it was 2.703. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this and how far out did you load for it? My hornady manual states 2.350, 2.703 seems like a long jump

Seat to your chamber. Ignore SAAMI overall length, it's way short, those bullets are seated ridiculously deep. Ignore what it says in a manual. I don't think there's any other cartridge where the caseneck is well past the ogive. That length wasn't chosen because it's most accurate, it's because factory ammunition has to fit any magazine for any rifle chambered 22-250. My chambers are 0 freebore and seated to just shy of the lands, overall cartridge length is still much (much) longer than 2.350. Trouble is with a factory chamber it's difficult to get near the lands and have any bullet in the neck. So you have to find a happy medium. With 0 freebore I seat .005-.010" off the lands and get superb accuracy. But with a factory chamber, if you can find the lands the bullet will be seated much further out. The bullet really only needs to seat deep enough for the neck to hold it very straight and secure. Start as close to the lands as possible with enough bullet in the neck to hold it well, and see how that goes. Every chamber/barrel combination is different and has it's own happy spot. You'll have to find what's best for your gun.
 
One thing to keep in mind, magazine length can affect your OAL as well. I spent time determining optimal OAL and a .020 jump on a model 70. Made it out to the range, went to load up the magazine and of course, too long. Not sure if this is an issue or not, but one thing to check, unless you want a single shot.

For what it's worth, I have found the 22-250 to be pretty forgiving when reloading. I didn't notice a change(not significant) when I changed my OAL to account for the magazine box.
 
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